DockController for Sonos

DockController for Sonos turns a spare Android tablet into a living-room music controller: dock the tablet and it becomes an always-on Sonos panel, with your lights, heating and other smart-home controls alongside. The repository has only 1 star so far — it is a very new, small project — but it shipped several versions across 20–22 October 2026, up to v1.0.44.

It looks like the classic Cover Flow from early iPhones: album covers flip past in a row and tapping one plays it, and there is also a grid view for browsing a library fast. A row of Home Assistant widgets across the top shows lights, blinds, outside temperature, indoor temperature and the thermostat at a glance. Beyond music there is a TV mode with show posters and time remaining, plus experimental YouTube, NHL scores and movie-database features.

To use it, install it on an Android tablet or phone: it works as a normal app day to day, and switches into screensaver mode when the device sits on its dock, staying visible without tapping anything. The author built it for their own Pixel tablet in the first place, finding Sonos's own app lacklustre, and wanted a jukebox-style panel instead.

Three things to know: it needs your own Sonos speakers and Home Assistant setup to control anything; the author describes it as a side project and some features are still marked experimental, with issues welcome on the repository; and it has no affiliation with Sonos or Home Assistant — it talks to your own devices on your local network and does not ask you to hand account credentials to a third party.